Clos Apalta 2013...Clos Apalta 2013 By the numbers APPELATION Region/District: Apalta vineyard,...
2
Clos Apalta 2013 GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS Apalta is located at 170 Kilometers South West from Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other. They are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for our vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the Cordillera block the sun’s rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF APALTA VALLEY Apalta has a special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua Valley. Its climate could be described as semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only rainy season and a long dry summer season. Rains are highly concentrated during the winter reaching over 550 mm in on average. During the growing season (oct-april), we have beautiful days and warm temperatures with no rain due to the height of the Coastal Mountains which partially block the cold influence of the Pacific Ocean. There are cool breezes in the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are cold. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day; which is a key quality factor for color and tannins in reds. Slow maturation allows the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character, preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing potential. THE SOIL There is much diversity in the soil, and our Clos Apalta comes from colluvial granitic soils, lightly textured with layers of clay. VINTAGE CONDITIONS IN 2013 This 2013 vintage brought great conditions in Apalta. In general, winter in 2012 was dry and cold in Apalta, except in June which showed higher temperatures and was also humid (+2ºC versus the last 10 years average). The springtime rains where average. All rains where concentrated in October. Summer was colder and more humid than the historic data. During December, rains of 68.1 mm at Apalta made it the wettest December known in last 10 years. These rains supplied our water reserves and allowed the grapevines to develop without the necessity of extra summer irrigation. Only February brought back normal recorded temperatures. The ripening process occurred slowly but, it was very balanced. Fall and march brought normal conditions. Regarding the temperatures, April was going well only the maxima were lower. The grape lost early its vegetal flavors and was technically ready to make wine, but we had to wait for the aromatic and phenolic ripeness. The ripening was going slowly, because of the fall characteristics: lower temperatures, shorter days, more clouds. So it was very important to be on top of the maturity records and then harvesting quickly considering the risk of rain. WINEMAKING Our winemaking philosophy is to reflect the terroir from Apalta by crafting a wine based in Carmenère. A truly hand crafted wine, we nurture our vines and attend to every detail to preserve the potential of the grapes. We hand harvest the fruit in small cases of 14 kilos. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery so we maintain complete control of the quality. We fill our French oak vats by gravity. Then nature does its work, allowing native yeasts that slowly ferment the must into wine, controlling temperature lower than 28° C. Macerations lasted for about 4-5 weeks and during all that period we did manual punch downs to extract enough compounds from skins to get the desired structure and concentration. We rack the young new wine straight into 100% new French oak barrels by gravity. Malolactic happens in barrels, where the wine stays for 28 months, ageing patiently. The wine is bottled by gravity without any treatment or filtration. TASTING NOTES Color: Deep ruby red color with purple edges. Nose: Complex nose opening towards ripe and expressive fruit, such as blackberry, blueberry, cassis and dry figs. Spices such as clove, black pepper and a touch of lavender. Mouth: Intense, smooth a silky structure filling the mid palate with a ripe and unique personality. Black fruit such as blackberry and blueberry with a long and slightly smoked finish. Service and food pairing: Open and leave to breathe for a couple of hours or carefully decant for minimum 1 hour or age for several years. Enjoy at 17ºC (64°F). Ideal companion for wagyu beef in wine reduction, deer with Jerusalem artichoke and boeuf bourguinon. A world class Blend in the Bordeaux tradition. The earth offers it up and we respect the gift.
Transcript of Clos Apalta 2013...Clos Apalta 2013 By the numbers APPELATION Region/District: Apalta vineyard,...
Clos Apalta 2013 GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONSApalta is located at 170 Kilometers South West from Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The Vineyard is situated on a North to South exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. The Tinguiririca river rests on one side and the hills from the Coastal Cordillera surround the vineyard like a horseshoe on the other. They are both integral in forming this unique terroir. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for our vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. At sunrise and sunset, the Cordillera block the sun’s rays, limiting the vines exposure to intense sunshine and the river has a cooling influence on the climate.CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF APALTA VALLEY
Apalta has a special meso-climate that is different from the rest of Colchagua Valley. Its climate could be described as semi-dry Mediterranean; with a winter only rainy season and a long dry summer season. Rains are highly concentrated during the winter reaching over 550 mm in on average. During the growing season (oct-april), we have beautiful days and warm temperatures with no rain due to the height of the Coastal Mountains which partially block the cold influence of the Pacific Ocean. There are cool breezes in the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are cold. We benefit from a wide temperature fluctuation between night and day; which is a key quality factor for color and tannins in reds. Slow maturation allows the grapes to reach their ideal maturity with high concentration and character, preserving the fruit and high levels of natural acidity, ensuring a long ageing potential.
THE SOILThere is much diversity in the soil, and our Clos Apalta comes from colluvial granitic soils, lightly textured with layers of clay.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS IN 2013This 2013 vintage brought great conditions in Apalta. In general, winter in 2012 was dry and cold in Apalta, except in June which showed higher temperatures and was also humid (+2ºC versus the last 10 years average). The springtime rains where average. All rains where concentrated in October. Summer was colder and more humid than the historic data. During December, rains of 68.1 mm at Apalta made it the wettest December known in last 10 years. These rains supplied our water reserves and allowed the grapevines to develop without the necessity of extra summer irrigation. Only February brought back normal recorded temperatures. The ripening process occurred slowly but, it was very balanced. Fall and march brought normal conditions. Regarding the temperatures, April was going well only the maxima were lower. The grape lost early its vegetal flavors and was technically ready to make wine, but we had to wait for the aromatic and phenolic ripeness. The ripening was going slowly, because of the fall characteristics: lower temperatures, shorter days, more clouds. So it was very important to be on top of the maturity records and then harvesting quickly considering the risk of rain. WINEMAKINGOur winemaking philosophy is to reflect the terroir from Apalta by crafting a wine based in Carmenère. A truly hand crafted wine, we nurture our vines and attend to every detail to preserve the potential of the grapes. We hand harvest the fruit in small cases of 14 kilos. The grapes are 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery so we maintain complete control of the quality. We fill our French oak vats by gravity. Then nature does its work, allowing native yeasts that slowly ferment the must into wine, controlling temperature lower than 28° C. Macerations lasted for about 4-5 weeks and during all that period we did manual punch downs to extract enough compounds from skins to get the desired structure and concentration. We rack the young new wine straight into 100% new French oak barrels by gravity. Malolactic happens in barrels, where the wine stays for 28 months, ageing patiently. The wine is bottled by gravity without any treatment or filtration.
TASTING NOTESColor: Deep ruby red color with purple edges.Nose: Complex nose opening towards ripe and expressive fruit, such as blackberry, blueberry, cassis and dry figs. Spices such as clove, black pepper and a touch of lavender. Mouth: Intense, smooth a silky structure filling the mid palate with a ripe and unique personality. Black fruit such as blackberry and blueberry with a long and slightly smoked finish.Service and food pairing: Open and leave to breathe for a couple of hours or carefully decant for minimum 1 hour or age for several years. Enjoy at 17ºC (64°F). Ideal companion for wagyu beef in wine reduction, deer with Jerusalem artichoke and boeuf bourguinon.
A world class Blend in the Bordeaux tradition. The earth offers it up and we
respect the gift.
Clos Apalta 2013By the numbers APPELATION
Region/District: Apalta vineyard, Valle de Colchagua, Chile.
Grape Variety 70% Carmenère, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.
VINEYARD
Climate data: Average Max Temp: 23°C; 74°F. Average Min Temp: 7°C; 45°F. Average Rainfall: 550 mm.
Vineyard Management: - Organic certified vineyards by CERES (Germany). - Biodynamic certified vineyards by DEMETER (Germany).
- Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon Pre-filoxera old vines planted in 1920 not grafted. - High density plantation: 6.666 pl/ hectare. - 5.400 pl/ hectare. - Yields: Average 2.000-3000 Kg/he – or 830– 1.300 Kg/acre. - Morning sun leaf removal and green harvest to fine tune yields. - 100% hand harvested from 7th March until 16th May 2012.
WINEMAKING
Grapes Selection: 100% hand de-stemmed in our Clos Apalta Winery. Fermentation: 100% native yeast 77% fermented in French oak vats of 75 Hl and 23% in new French oak bordeaux barrels. Skin contact up to 5 weeks.
AGEING
Ageing: 100% of the blend in 225 lts new French oak barrels for 28 months. Coopers: Saury, Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Demptos, Sylvain and Radoux. Mostly medium toast.
Fining and filtering Not fined, cold stabilized or filtered. PRODUCTION
Date of Bottling: From 20th to 23rd of October, 2015.Cases produced: 4.808 cases of 12 bottles.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
“When I first came to Apalta It striked me; unique geography,
climate and old vines that are not grafted. The potential that lay
hidden in this incredible place came to reality with the creation of Clos
Apalta”.Jacques Begarie,Chief Winemaker.
Wine Spectator Wine and Spirits Wine Enthusiast Wine Advocate1997: 91 1997: 94 1997: 93 1997: 93 1999: 92 1999: 94 1999: 94 1999: 912000: 94 TOP 3 2000: 92 2002: 92 2000: 922001: 95 TOP 2 2001: 94 2003: 94 2001: 902002: 93 2002: 94 2004: 91 2002: 92 2003: 94 2003: 92 2005: 94 2003: 952004: 93 2005: 94 2007: 93 2004: 912005: 96 TOP 1 2006: 93 2008: 95 2005: 912006: 94 2008: 91 Editor Choice 2009: 912007: 93 2009: 93 2010: 912008: 92 2010: 93 2011: 932009: 96 2011: 952010: 94 2012: 942011: 922012: 93
La Cav Woman Wine Peñin Guide James Suckling2007: 93 Guide 2010: 93 2010: 97 2008: 92 2008: 94 2011: 92 2011: 96 2009: 96 2009: 95 2012: 96 2010: 94 2010: 95 Independent 2013: 96 2011: 92 Wine Review 2010: 95
Clos Apalta 2005: #1 wine in TOP 100 Wine Spectator
